Dormant Sentiments and Renewed Love
by kakashifangirl
Summary: [AU]Sakura has returned from studying in the USA. Naruto missed her sorely while she was gone, and is now very determined to make Sakura his girlfriend. But does Sakura still like Sasuke? What about Hinata who's still trying to catch Naruto's eye?
1. Homecoming

Hey all! This is my first attempt at a Naruto fan fiction! I was having a really hard time coming up with a topic! It took me forever, but I finally thought of something. Basically Naruto and the gang are all high school seniors. During the last school year Sakura participated in the school's travel abroad program, and spent her junior year studying in the United States. Naruto missed her sorely while she was gone, and is determined to make Sakura his girlfriend now that she's come back. But does Sakura still like Sasuke? And what about Hinata who was vowed to get Naruto to notice her? Romance is defiantly in the air, especially since Sakura brings back a cute girl from the States who has come to study abroad in Japan. I'm unsure of the parings right now, but it will probably become clearer as the chapters go on. Anyway, I hope you like it, and please leave a review! Oh and I switch POV a few times. Switches are indicted by a dashed line!

Naruto paced back and forth anxiously, looking up periodically to see if the plane he was awaiting had arrived. "Oi Naruto!" Shikamaru called. "Sit down! You're starting to annoy me!"

"Fine!" Naruto shouted. "But I'm just so excited that it's hard to sit still for a long period of time!"

"We're all excited Naruto, but we've all managed to stay sitting down, and I think you can too," Ino said in an exasperated tone. Naruto plopped down in one of the small, uncomfortable airport seats, and began to intently gaze out the window. Sakura was finally coming home. She had been gone for almost one year. She had spent that year as an exchange student in America. Studying abroad had been something Sakura had wanted to do for quite some time, so Naruto was really glad she had gotten the chance to make her dreams come true, but he would certainly be glad to have her back. He'd heard the saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," but he didn't know how true it was until Sakura had left for the States. He missed her more every day; it felt like his heart was constantly aching.

Part of the reason Naruto was so excited that Sakura was home was due to the fact that in his eyes he had matured a lot in the past year. While he would always be the kind of person that others would describe as "noisy", Naruto had learned to hold his tongue when necessary. He had also started to get more serious about school, and was now doing quite well. He had joined the basketball team, and had now become rather physically fit. He wouldn't go as far as to say that he had done it all to impress Sakura, he really hoped that she could notice how much he had changed. He had talked to Sakura on the phone numerous times while she was out of the country, and it had seemed to him that she was slowly growing out of her Sasuke obsessed phase. As the months went by she talked of him less frequently, and his raised the blond teen's spirits. He was determined to make Sakura his, and he figured now was his best chance.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hinata glanced over at Naruto. He was unwearyingly staring out the large airport window, obviously lost in his own thoughts. He was tightly clutching a dozen roses, which Hinata knew were for Sakura. She let out a small sigh. Sakura had been in the United States for a year, and it was obvious that Naruto's feeling for her had only grown stronger over this duration of time. She had tried to catch Naruto's attention the whole school year, but he didn't really notice her. She had begun to wear more make-up, let her hair grow out, and had even stopped wearing baggy clothes that hid her figure. None of this worked though. Naruto never seemed to notice her, no matter what she did. At one point Hinata tried to shelf her feelings for Naruto, but to no avail. Naruto had gotten so much more handsome, hardworking, and mature during the year that it Hinata found it impossible not to like him. She exhaled loudly, which caught Kiba's attention.

"Something the matter Hinata-chan?" he inquired. Against her will, Hinata's eyes darted over to Naruto. Kiba nodded his head knowingly. "If you want my opinion, Naruto's the one missing out. You are a great person and if Naruto's too much of a _baka_ to see that then he doesn't deserve you," he told her.

"Kiba-kun...," Hinata trailed off, turning bright red. "_Arrigato_. That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."

"Yeah well I don't get mushy that often, so don't expect to hear that from me again," Kiba said gruffly. Hinata smiled and gave a small nod. The two fell back into silence, and Hinata was once again left with her thoughts. Hinata wished she didn't have such strong feelings for Naruto, but the fact remained that she did. Hinata clenched her first and resolved to make her crush notice her. She would not let Haruno Sakura have Naruto. She didn't know how she would steal his attention, but she vowed to do whatever it would take.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke sat in silence, arms folded, surveying the herd of people who had shown up to welcome Sakura back home. Sasuke didn't particularly want to be here, but Ino had forced him to come. In all actuality he hadn't missed Sakura much. Quite to the contrary, he had enjoyed the nice little break from her constant calls of "Sasuke-kun!", and having her practically attached to her side. He prayed she had grown out of that. It looked like Naruto was praying for the same thing, because in his hand he held flowers, which were obviously for Sakura. Sasuke wished Naruto luck. His life would be much easier if Sakura and Naruto started dating. His thoughts were interrupted by Ino's loud voice. "I wonder what the exchange student will be like?" she wondered aloud. Since Sasuke was sitting right next to her, he assumed Ino was speaking to him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, more because it was polite, and not because he was actually curious.

"_Baka_!" Ino exclaimed. "Did you already forget that as part of the travel abroad program Sakura is required to bring a student from the U.S. back to Japan with her?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Guess it slipped my mind," he answered coolly. "He'll probably be like all Americans: loud, rude, ignorant, and annoying."

"First of all you shouldn't stereotype people," Ino lectured. "And second of all, the exchange student is a girl."

Whatever," was all Sasuke said in reply. He wished that Sakura's plane would hurry up and arrive. He had better things to do than sit around the airport all day. As if on cue, Naruto shot out of his seat and ran to the window. "That plane coming this way!" he cried, pointing to the large aircraft that was now rolling towards them.

"Yup looks like it's going to dock here!" Lee exclaimed. Sure enough the plane pulled up to the docking station. All of his friend stood up and flocked towards the entry gate, but Sasuke remained seated. He thought his lack enthusiasm had gone unnoticed when a voice called his name.

"Oi, Sasuke!" screamed Naruto. "Get your ass up here and come greet Sakura-chan with us!" Reluctantly Sasuke heaved himself from the chair, and made his way over to the others. He was taller than most of his comrades, and could easily see over their heads. He didn't have to wait long before he saw a girl with cherry blossom hair and green eyes making her way out of the tunnel towards them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first person Sakura caught sight of was Sasuke. He had grown a lot since the last time she had seen him. He now stood at least a half a foot taller than the rest of her companions. She was taking in Sasuke's solid, muscular body when a familiar voice cried, "Sakura-chan!" Her attention turned to the attractive, blonde teen waving wildly at her, grinning from ear to ear.

"Na…Na…Naruto," Sakura stammered out. She was somewhat aback taken with how good-looking Naruto had become. He was much taller, and it was obvious that basketball had whipped him into shape. "_Konichiwa _Naruto!" she greeted. The boy ran up to Sakura and wrapped her in a hug.

"I missed you Sakura-chan," he whispered into her ear. Sakura was a bit surprised at Naruto's forwardness, but she simply replied, "I missed you too." Naruto pulled away from their embrace and held out roses for Sakura.

"Here," he said. "These are for you."

"For me?" Sakura asked blushing. Naruto gave an enthusiastic nod.

"_Domo arrigato_ Naruto," Sakura gushed. "That's so sweet of you." She could hardly believe this was the same annoying Naruto she had known before she went to America. Naruto grinned, and told Sakura that the flowers were really no big deal. Sakura didn't have much more of a chance to speak with Naruto because the remainder of her friend rushed towards her. She was showered with hugs, and choruses of "How are you? How was the United States?"

Sakura had an excellent time as an exchange student, but she was happy to be back in Japan, and ecstatic to see her friends. She got so caught up in her happy reunion that she almost forgot something very important.

"Hey everyone!" she called, trying to get her friend's attention. "I have someone I want to introduce to you," she stepped to the side to revel a cute American girl standing behind her. "This is our new exchange student, Alyson Taylor."

Thanks for reading! Please review if you would like me to continue!


	2. Airport Ponderings

Hey I'm back already! I'm trying to give you all a quick update. Thanks to all of you who reviewed last time! Anyway I'll get on with it, but I should add that I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. I am still indecisive on the pairings, so please tell me what you'd like to see! Anyway enjoy and please leave a review.

Sakura stepped aside to reveal a pretty girl. She had chestnut colored hair that fell just past her shoulders. Her almond-shaped eyes shone a brilliant green. She gave the group a small smile and waved. "**_Hajimemashite_**," she said quietly.

"_Dozo Yoroshiku_!" Lee greeted. "I'm Rock Lee. I hope you enjoy your stay here in Japan!"

"_Domo_ _Arrigato_," Alyson said while bowing. "I'm sure I will like it here." Lee had to admit the exchange student wasn't quite what he'd assumed she would be like. While he knew very few Americans, he had heard that most were loud and impolite. Alyson was actually rather quiet, and seemed polite. She had used a courteous phrase when making their acquaintance, and had even bowed while thanking him. Lee was about to compliment Alyson on her well courteous Japanese mannerisms, but before he or anyone else had a chance to speak with the exchange student; Naruto had run up to her. He immediately began hounding Alyson with questions about life in America.

"Oi Naruto!" Sakura yelled. "You're being rude!" Lee smiled broadly. It looked likethings were quickly returning to normal. Life had seemed quite odd without Sakura around. He was glad she was back, and that their group of friends would be able to enjoy their senior year together.

"You didn't even introduce yourself!" Sakura scolded. "Honestly, could you be any more impolite?" Naruto looked very crestfallen, and immediately apologized. Sakura pointed her thumb at the blonde boy. "That's Uzumaki Naruto," she told Alyson. "And as you can tell he is a little obnoxious." Lee felt kind of bad for Naruto. He had actually matured a good deal throughout the course of their junior year, but he became so excited when Sakura arrived that he had totally ruined his new milder image. Naruto had really wanted Sakura to see this fresh side of him, but his behavior thus far had only shown Sakura that he was the same goofball she had always known. _"Oh well,"_ Lee told himself. _"Naruto has been trying to impress Sakura since we were children. It never works,"_ he thought while chuckling inwardly. Lee couldn't really blame Naruto for never giving up his pursuit of Sakura. _"She is a wonderful person after all,"_ Lee thought dreamily. _"I guess I am just as guilty as Naruto when it comes to trying to grab Sakura's attention,"_ he admitted to himself. The raven haired boy was suddenly pulled from his own thoughts when he heard Sakura's voice introducing Alyson to all their friends.

"That's Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Hinata, Tenten, (A/N: Seriously, does she have a last name? If so does anyone know what it is?), Rock Lee, who was the only one nice enough to introduce himself," she added. "And then we have Hyuuga Neji, Aburame Shino, Akimichi Choji, and Inuzaku Kiba." Alyson told everyone that it was nice to meet them, and they all said they were glad to meet her too. Well, all expect for Sasuke. Lee liked Sasuke, but he sometimes found him too standoffish. Sasuke was often unnecessarily cold towards others, and Lee found it perturbing. He didn't even know Alyson, yet he was already acting unfriendly to her. Lee shrugged. That was who Sasuke was, and there wasn't anything her could do to change it. Lee tried not to worry about things he couldn't control. The boy was again ripped from his own thoughts, but this time by Naruto's voice.

"I have a great idea!" he announced. "Lets all go out to lunch!"

"That sounds good," Sakura agreed. "I'm starving." The group began to head towards the baggage claim to retrieve Sakura and Alyson's belongings when Naruto added, "Let's make sure we go somewhere that has Ramen!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke walked a few steps behind the others while they made their way toward luggage claim. He quietly surveyed Sakura, pondering why she hadn't pounced on him upon her arrival in Japan. _"Not that I care," _he thought to himself. _"I'm just glad that Sakura is ignoring me. It's what I've been hoping she'd do ever since I first met her." _Sakura's constant pestering was a source of much annoyance for the onyx eyed teen. _"Maybe she's finally going to stop obsessing overme," _Sasuke speculated. These conclusions didn't make him nearly as happy as he imagined they would. Why would Sasuke care if Sakura suddenly stopped liking him? All Sakura did was constantly annoy him.

"_She doesn't always annoy you," _a small voice in the back of Sasuke's head said. It was true. Sakura didn't always annoy him as much as he liked to pretend. After all, she had been there to comfort him when his parents died. She had also helped him out when his estranged brother, Itachi, had tried to work his way back into Sasuke's life. _"I could have dealt with those problems by myself just fine,"_ Sasuke told himself. _"She probably didn't really care about all the pain I went through anyway. She just used my suffering as an excuse to be with me! How pathetic!" _He was still busy thinking about how much Sakura irritated the hell out of him when they arrived at baggage claim. Sakura and the American girl quickly spotted their bags and began grabbing them. Sasuke noticed that Sakura had two suitcases, both of which looked extremely heavy. Before he could stop himself, he had sauntered over to Sakura and asked if she would like help carrying her luggage.

"Sasuke-kun," she said in a surprised tone. "Yeah, help would be nice," Sakura admitted. Without another word, Sasuke took both bags in hand and began heading to the airport's exit, Sakura close behind him. When the ebony eyed boy glanced back at Sakura he could tell she was racking her brain, trying to come up with something to say to him. Sasuke was debating if he should alleviate Sakura's problem by asking her how the United States had been, when someone bumped into him. He turned to his left and came face to face with an extremely unhappy looking Naruto.

"What do you think you're doing Sasuke?" he growled.

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked a confused Sasuke. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"As if you don't know," he snarled.

"Stop acting like a _baka_," hissed Sasuke. "I have no clue what you're pissed about." Naruto kept silent for quite some time. Possibly he wanted Sasuke to deduce for himself the reason why he was upset. Personally, Sasuke didn't give a damn why the blonde boy was mad. It was most likely something trivial. It only took the smallest of things to trigger Naruto's explosive temper. Soon Naruto got annoyed with Sasuke's unresponsiveness, and divulged the reason for his anger.

"Trying to be all suave by carrying Sakura's luggage, it pisses me off!" Naruto murmured.

"Whatever. I was just being courteous. She had two huge bags and I didn't see you jumping up to help," Sasuke coolly explained.

"I was going to go help her but there was no way I could get there before you. You practically ran there!" Naruto accused.

"I did not!" cried the appalled Sasuke. "You know I don't even like Sakura."

"Oh yeah, I could tell by the way you rushed to help her carry her things," Naruto said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Sasuke open his mouth to retort, but he was interrupted before he could get his words out.

"Man, you two fight like an old married couple," Kiba informed them.

"_Urusai_!" Naruto and Sasuke yelled turning on Kiba. The brunette threw up his hands in surrender. "Sorry I said anything," Kiba told his comrades.

"I didn't 'rush' over there," Sasuke whispered as soon as he was sure Kiba was out of earshot. Naruto gave the navy haired boy a "sure you didn't look", and Sasuke angrily flipped him the bird in return. Naruto was going to yell at Sasuke, but Sakura walked up to them at that moment. "Thanks for carrying my bags Sasuke-kun," she gushed. "You didn't have to do that."

"Whatever," the teen snapped, still in a bad mood from his argument with Naruto. "It's not like you've strong enough to carry them by yourself."

"Oi, Sasuke! Don't raise your voice at Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled.

"Maybe you're the one that should stop yelling!" Sasuke retorted.

"Enough!" Neji said sternly. "As soon as we get outside, they'll be no more fighting." Sasuke wanted to make a snide comment, but he had already arrived at the doors. He pushed them open and stepped into the warm afternoon sun. Part of him still felt like arguing with his blonde-haired friend, but he refrained. For some reason he didn't feel like continuing their fight. Sasuke frowned to himself. If he wasn't careful he might loose his reputation as an asshole.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ino, Tenten, and Hinata all sidled up next to Sakura, each wearing identical, sly grins on their faces. "I see Sasuke-kun carried your bags," Ino said to her pink haired companion. Sakura blushed ever so slightly, and gave a small nod.

"And Naruto-kun gave you roses," Hinata added. Again, Sakura nodded.

"Man I should go overseas," Tenten stated. "Apparently all the guys fall head over heals from you when you come back from America," she teased. Sakura felt her face flushing red, and let out a small laugh.

"That's not true," the emerald eyed girl protested. Her childhood friends gave Sakura a glare that clearly said they disagreed with her statement.

"So do you still like Sasuke-kun?" Ino pried.

A large grin spread over Sakura's face. "Jealous that he carried my stuff for meIno pig-chan?" she questioned. Ino began looking sheepish. "Actually, no I'm not," she told Sakura. Sakura looked in disbelief at her blonde friend. She never thought she'd live to see the day that Ino proclaimed that she didn't love Sasuke. They had been competing over him since they were young, and Sakura figured that this war would be waged until the day one of them got a boyfriend. Suddenly, her mouth dropped open in realization.

"You got a boyfriend!" Sakura yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Ino. Her three friends began giggling. "Who is it? Tell me?" Sakura demanded. Eventually Ino stopped laughing and answered her friend's question.

"It's Shikamaru-kun," Ino admitted. Sakura began squealing. She was so happy for Ino and sent her congratulations to the new couple.

"Why didn't you tell me you were dating though?" Sakura asked Ino.

Her friend didn't have a chance to respond because at that moment Shikamaru put his arm around Ino and said, "She's embarrassed of me since I'm no where near as hot as Sasuke," he informed Sakura.

"_Baka!_" Ino cried, lightly shoving her boyfriend. "You know that's not true Shika-kun!"

"Geez I was just kidding," Shikamaru said.

"Not funny," Ino notified him.

Shikamaru let out a little sigh. "Sometimes I think girls are too much trouble," he muttered. Ino heard his comment and tackled Shikamaru.

"Take that back!" she insisted. As Neji walked by Sakura heard him mumble something about how embarrassing his friends were. Sakura shook her head as she watched Ino and Shikamaru wrestle, Ino still demanding that her boyfriend take back his unkind comments.

"They seem like and odd couple," she commented.

Tenten nodded in agreement. "I thought that at first too, but actually their opposite personalities balance each other out perfectly."

"Yeah, I guess I can see that," the pink haired girl replied. For reasons unknown to even Sakura herself, she felt sad that Ino was dating Shikamaru. Sakura had figured she would be ecstatic if Ino got a boyfriend, mainly because it would mean she no longer had competition for Sasuke-kun. Sakura didn't feel triumph or happiness, she actually felt empty. She realized that her friends had grown and matured a lot while she was in the States. Since she was the one who had traveled abroad, Sakura had assumed she'd be the one who had changed most. However, she felt as though she were the same person that she was a year ago.

Sakura was so engrossed with her musings that she didn't notice when the group stopped walking. She ran right into Naruto who was caught so off guard that he toppled over. He grabbed Sakura in an attempt to keep from falling to the ground, but it didn't work out quite like the young blonde had planned. Sakura lost her balance as well, and the pair fell over. Naruto looked extremely pleased to have Sakura lying on top of him. Apparently the boy hadn't matured as much as Sakura had originally thought. She jumped up and yelled, "What were you thinking Naruto? Why did you pull me down with you?"

Naruto stood up as well and replied, "You were the one that knocked me down in the first place Sakura-chan." Sakura snorted. She figured if she didn't say anything she didn't have to lie, nor did she have to admit she had run right into Naruto. The green eyed girl surveyed her friends, looking to see if any of them had seen through her silence. Everyone was staring at Sakura with skeptical looks upon their faces. Everyone except Hinata. Her eyes were downcast and she looked very disconsolate. Sakura guessed it was because Naruto had been so glad Sakura had landed on top of him. _"Poor Hinata,"_ she thought. But in reality Sakura was glad at least one of her friends was still the same.

Sakura turned her attention away from Hinata, and began searching for the reason her friends had abruptly stopped walking. She soon realized they had arrived at the parking spots which occupied her friends cars.

The group piled into four separate vehicles. Sakura, Alyson, and Hinata all rode in Ino's Mitsubishi Lancer. Tenten, Lee, and Shino went with Neji. Naruto, Kiba, and Sasuke rode together, and Choji and Shikamaru took Shikamaru's car. As they sped through the downtown area, Sakura couldn't think of anywhere she'd rather be or any other people that she'd rather be with.

"It's good to be home," she said aloud.

Ino smiled. "Well it's great to have you back," she informed her friend.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Hajimemashite—_Means "How do you do?" in Japanese. It's the polite way of making someone's acquaintance.

_Dozo Yoroshiku—_Means "I'm very glad to meet you," in Japanese.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So what did you think? Good? Bad? Awful? Please leave a review if you would like me to continue with this fic! And for anyone that's worried about it, Alyson isn't going to be a Mary Sue who all the guys fall in love with. The reason I have her in there is so that she can give people unbiased opinions about their love lives. I may not even pair her with anyone. Anyway, I just thought I'd throw that out there in case someone was worried that was the direction the story was going. I'll try to get another quick update! Thanks for reading, and please review!


	3. First Day of School

Hello! I hope everyone had very happy holidays! I know I did! Not much to say except that I don't own any aspect of Naruto! Enjoy this chapter, and please leave a review!

Alyson awoke the next morning to the sound of an unfamiliar alarm clock screeching. It took her a moment before she realized the clock belonged to Sakura, and that she was at the Japanese girl's house, rather than her own home overseas. Alyson fumbled around for a few moments before she found and silenced the alarm.

Hesitantly, she slid from beneath the covers and made her way to the bathroom down the hall. Alyson quickly showered and dressed, then ran to the mirror to check her appearance. She frownedslightly as she gazed at her reflection. She wasn't used to wearing a school uniform, and she felt rather silly in one. Alyson was still surveying herself when Sakura walked into the room, a large smile adoring her face.

"Breakfast is ready whenever you are," the pink haired girl informed her. Alyson managed a weak smile and nod in return. As if she were reading the young American's mind Sakura added, "You don't need to be nervous about school. You speak wonderful Japanese. And you'll fit right in with all my friends, so you shouldn't worry about that either."

"_Arrigato_," Alyson said, the frown leaving her face. Feeling much less ill at ease, she made her way into the dining room where the rest of the family was already eating. By the time Alyson had finished her meal the nervous feelings once again began washing over her. She was immediately distracted from her worries by a knock at the door. Sakura announced that the knock meant it was time for the pair of themto head to school, and they both bide the Haruno family goodbye.

Sakura flung open her home's front door to revel a grinning Ino on the other side. "Ready for the first day back?" the blonde asked. Sakura took a deep breath and nodded vigorously.

"I am so glad to be home," she told her best friend.

The three began making there way towards the school and Ino turned her attentions toward Alyson, "How about you Alyson? Are you nervous about starting at a new school? Especially, since you are in a foreign country and all…"

The brunette pondered the question for a few seconds before answering, "No, I'm not too worried." And at that moment, it was the truth. The sun was shining brightly, warming Alyson's face, and accentuating the leaf's brilliant fall colors. She was in Japan, which was somewhere she had wanted to live ever since she was a child, and from the way Ino was treating her, it looked as though Alyson had already made some friends. At that instant, it was impossible for the American to be unhappy. Worry? The word seemed practically foreign to Alyson.

She beamed at Ino. "This country is so beautiful and all of Sakura's friends are so nice that I'm sure I'll have no problem adjusting to the change."

The blue eyed girl let out a small laugh in return. "Just wait until you get to know some of our friends better. They are not quite as civil as they may appear," she warned.

"Naruto and Kiba are extremely loud," Sakura notified Alyson.

"Sasuke and Neji have a tendency to be aloof," Ino added.

"Oh, so does Shino!"

"Lee has a propensity to be quite overzealous."

"Hinata is really shy, but she is actually friendly if you get to know her."

"Chouji is a pig. He eats way too much. If you're not careful he might mistake your finger for food and bite it off."

"Shikamaru is exceptionally lazy."

"Yeah…I mean…wait…hey!" Ino cried. "That's my boyfriend you're talking about!"

"Oops," Sakura said, blushing slightly from embarrassment. "I guess that fact slipped my mind. I haven't known that you were dating for even one full day. Give it time to sink in."

Ino folded her arms across her chest, obviously still slightly unhappy with Sakura's comment. "Well, Shika is a genius, even if he is lazy," the pink haired girl added.

All traces of Ino's frown faded from her face. "Yeah! He scored way over 200 on his IQ test," she proudly informed Alyson.

"Can you guess what our fault is?" Sakura asked her American exchange. Alyson decided that it may be dangerous to respond to the question, so she simply shrugged and shook her head.

"We gossip too much!" Ino exclaimed merrily. Sakura laughed loudly and nodded in agreement. "Anyway, where were we?" the blue eyed blonde questioned.

"Hum…" Sakura trailed off. "Oh yeah! We never told you about Tenten!"

Ino's eyed widened. "Oh yeah, Tenten. She puts school work before everything else. She can be kind of dull at times…"

The gossip session went on for quite awhile, but by the time the trio arrived at the high school the focus of the discussion had shifted.Ino and Sakura had ceased talking about their friends and were now forewarning Alyson about their teacher's quirks. Right before they crossed the threshold into school Alyson was being cautioned about the Biology teacher.

"Jiraiya-sensei is a huge pervert! Watch out for him!" Ino advised.

"Ewww! Yeah, he is such a perverted old man! I catch him trying to look up my skirt all the time!" Sakura chimed in.

As she pushed open the door, Alyson what exactly she had gotten herself into when she entered into the exchange program.

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Uzumaki Naruto nervously ran his fingers through his blond hair, trying to tame any fly-away strands. "Do I look okay?" he asked Lee. The heavy browed boy thoroughly looked Naruto over before giving him a thumbs-up.

"You look like the epitome of beautiful springtime youth!" he loudly exclaimed. Naruto rolled his eyes, but decided to take the black eyed boy's comment as a compliment.

"Lee, you should stop stealing Gai-sensei's catchphrases," recommended a voice behind the boys. "They aren't cool. It's no surprise you don't have a girlfriend." The friends whirled around to find Kiba grinning playfully.

"Gai-sensei is an embodiment of coolness! Don't insult him!" Lee said in a hurt voice. "And you're not one to talk about being single! You don't have a girlfriend either!"

Kiba scoffed noisily. "I don't want a girlfriend," he informed Lee.

"Yeah right!" Lee yelled. "I see the burning flame of love in your eyes every time you look at Hinata-chan!"

Kiba looked mortified, and his face immediately turned a deep burgundy color. "Who told you I liked her?!" the brunette demanded.

"Ah ha!" Lee shouted triumphantly. "So you admit to liking her?"

"No!" Kiba spat out. Naruto shook his head and turned his attentions away from his bickering friends towards the small mirror that resided in his locker.

This morning the young basketball star had spent extra time preening. He gelled his hair, splashed on cologne, and had even brushed his teeth. Though it was against the school dress code, Naruto decided to leave his shirt untucked. In his opinion, it made him look much cooler.

He wanted to look perfect for Sakura-chan. Naruto got the feeling that he hadn't impressed his crush too much in the airport the previous afternoon. Today he planned to sweep the cherry blossom haired beauty off her feet with his mature behavior and good looks.

Down the hall, Sakura was opening her locker, and Naruto knew his chance to talk to the pretty girl had come. He gathered up all of his nerves and strolled up to his green eyed crush. Naruto refrained from calling out "Oi! Sakura-chan!" like he typically did. Instead he politely greeted his friend, "_Ohayo_ Sakura-chan. How are you doing?"

Sakura, who had been engrossed in organizing her locker, looked up. She examined Naruto for a few moments, and then began blushing. "I'm fine Naruto-kun," she responded. "How are you?"

This time it was Naruto who was late in responding to the posed question. He was in shock that Sakura had called him Naruto-kun. He had been waiting his entire life for Sakura-chan to attach that suffix to his name. It sure beat being called Naruto _no_ _baka_, which was the only thing Sakura had affixed to his name since they first met. "I'm excellent Sakura-chan," the blonde finally managed to spit out. "You're looking very pretty today," he added for good measure.

"Me?" Sakura asked pointing to herself. "Me? Naruto you are the one who's looking ho… I mean…" she trailed off. "Well… let's just say your looks changed drastically during last year," Sakura finished.

Naruto was too dense to realize that Sakura had almost said he looked hot, but he was ecstatic all the same. She had noticed that he looked different from the scrawny boy she had once known. "Yeah, well basketball really whipped me into shape," Naruto told her.

The two talked about how they had spent their junior year until the bell rang, indicating that the students should get to class.

"It was really nice talking to you Sakura-chan," Naruto informed the girl. "Have a good day!"

"You too Naruto-kun. See you in class," Sakura said. And with that the two departed ways; each heading towards their lockers. _"I have a feeling this is going to be a good year," _the blonde thought to himself. "_A very good year." _

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura sat in Advanced Writing, bored to tears, as Ebisu-sensei droned on about the different ways in which sentences could be formed and arranged. She felt her eyes slowly shutting and her head gravitating towards the desk when she was snapped back to the realm of the conscious by someone hissing her name. Sakura looked around, trying to figure out who exactly the owner of the voice was. When her emerald eyes fell upon Ino, her best friend winked, and dropped a piece of paper on the floor.

Assuming the paper was a note for her; Sakura extended her foot out and dragged the message towards her desk. As quietly as possible, Sakura unfolded letter and began reading its contents.

_Sakura:_

_What's going on with you and Naruto? I saw you talking to before class, and you both looked pretty into each other! So spill girl, what is the deal! Do you like him? _

_PS: He did get pretty hunky while you were gone, ne? _

Sakura cheeks had a pink tinge to them by the time she finished reading Ino's note. Had it really looked like she was interested in Naruto while she was talking to him? She didn't want people thinking that! She most certainly did **not** like that blonde brat.

_ "Well…he's actually not that bad," _said Sakura's inner voice. Knowing it was pointless to contradict her inner self, since she always said what Sakura was truly thinking, the pink haired girl wrote this response:

_Ino-chan:_

_Well, I'll admit that Naruto did get better looking, and he is definitely more mature. I'm not yet sure if I like him though… but I wouldn't turn him down if he asked me on a date…_

Sakura folded up the paper, and slid it back towards Ino. Unfortunately Ebisu-sensei turned around at the very moment Ino decided to pick up the note.

Frowning, he said, "I certainly hope you are passing notes concerning different ways to form sentences." He then strode over to Ino and snatched the paper out of her hands. The teacher unfolded the note and quickly scanned it. Much to the relief of both girls, their sensei did not read the note aloud. He simply crumpled it up and tossed it in the trash. "Next time I catch you passing notes I am sending you to the office," Ebisu informed them.

Sakura breathed a huge sigh of relief. She felt as though she had just gotten away with murder. The green eyed girl would never have been able to cope with the embarrassment of having all her classmates learn that she had a tiny crush on Naruto. Not to mention the horror of having Naruto himself learn this bit of information. Now that she thought about it, she didn't even want Ino to know. Sakura was glad that her friend had never had a chance to read her reply.

The rest of the class period flew by uneventfully, as did the rest of the day. Ino invited Sakura and Alyson to hang out at her house after school, but Sakura wasn't in the mood. She really had to sort out her feelings for Naruto and Sasuke. The cherry-blossom haired student just wanted to be alone, to have silence, to think.

Since Alyson seemed to be eager to go to Ino's, and becasue Sakura wanted to have some solitude, she gave the American permission to visit Ino's house without her. Sakura knew she was supposed to stay with her exchange student at all times, but her head was too clouded with emotions for her to think straight.

Sakura rapidly walked home and shut herself in her room. _"Do I like Naruto?"_ she asked herself. _"Or do I still like Sasuke-kun?" _For once in her life, Haruno Sakura didn't know who she had a crush on.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The brown haired, black eyed boy was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the basketball whizzing towards him until it was too late. The bright orange ball collided with his head, violently jerking him back into reality. He angrily spun around, his fist tightly clenched. "Who did that?!" he barked.

"Quit yapping Kiba. It was your own fault," replied the cool, calm voice of his teammate, Uchiha Sasuke. "Maybe if you paid attention to practice, and not all the girls," he said, motioning to the bevy of females who were watching from the bleachers, "then you wouldn't have gotten hit in the head."

The rest of the basketball team burst into laughter, and Kiba's face began boiling with anger. He let out a low growl and began charging towards Sasuke. His fist was coiled back, ready to strike Sasuke's face, when their coach jumped in front of him.

"Oi! Kiba!" Coach Iruka cried. "Don't start fights or you'll be sitting on the bench next game!"

Reluctantly, Kiba dropped his fist. "Fine," he mumbled. "But he started it," he said grumpily, a dark look spreading over his face.

"Let's stop here for today," Iruka proclaimed, sensing that he had better end their practice before Kiba and Sasuke decided to kill each other.

The team collected all the basketballs, put them away, and then began heading towards the locker room. They were quickly stopped by Coach Iruka, who said he needed be make a quick announcement before they could go home.

The boys stopped in their tracks, and turned to face their coach, intently waiting for Iruka's announcement. By the look on Iruka's face, Kiba could tell that this announcement was not something he would be happy to hear. The coach cleared his throat then began to speak.

"As you know every year Konaha High throws a Fall Formal dance. Each year a different club or team from our high school hosts the dance, and as a reward, they receive all profits from the tickets they sell. Our basketball team desperately needs new uniforms, so…"

"Please don't tell me our team has to put on the dance," Sasuke interrupted.

"_Gomen nasi_ Sasuke-kun, but yes, we are. I volunteered us to put on the Fall dance," Iruka informed the team. Simultaneous groans escaped all the boy's mouths.

"How troublesome," whined Shikamaru. His teammates all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Stop complaining," Couch Iruka snapped. "Doesn't the team need new uniforms?" he asked. There was a chorus of mumbled yes's, and many head bobbing up and down, concurring that the team was in serious need of new uniforms.

"Then suck it up and host the Christmas dance," Iruka demanded. Somewhat unwilling, the team agreed to put on the dance. Their coach proceeded to inform the Konaha basketball team what exactly hosting the dance encompassed.

They needed to advertise, set up a table during lunch where students could buy tickets, arrange for a DJ, and decorate the gym. Iruka decided the most efficient way to accomplish these tasks was splitting everyone up into small teams, each with a different duty.

"Kiba, you and Naruto are in charge of advertising and finding the DJ. Chouji and Shino you get to sell tickets. Lee, Neji, Sasuke, and Shikamaru, you have to buy the decorations and set the gym up for the dance." The team grumbled about how much work they had to do, but Iruka eventually got them to promise that they would all do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

Iruka was about to tell the guys to hit the showers when he remembered one final thing he had to notify the team. "By the way," he began. "Since we are hosting this dance you must attend it. No exceptions," he said sternly, cutting off Sasuke who had opened his mouth to protest. "You must all be there, and you all have to have a date or you will sit out for the rest of the season." By the severe tone in his voice and the glare in his eyes, the team could tell their coach was serious. Iruka dismissed them, and the boys glumly made their way to the locker room.

"This sucks," Kiba stated as soon as they were out of Iruka's earshot.

"Putting the dance on is enough of a hassle, but now we have to attend it with as well. It's too much work," Shikamaru said, sighing lazily.

"Hey at least you have girlfriend!" Kiba yelled. "Think about us poor souls who are single!"

"Oh c'mon, it will be fun," Lee argued. "Plus we get new uniforms!"

"New uniforms are not worth being rejected by every girl in this school when we ask them to the dance," Kiba told Lee.

"You'll find a date," Lee insisted. Kiba snorted, and shook his head.

"No way, they'll all want to go with Sasuke-kun," he said in a very perturbed tone. The rest of the team all agreed with Kiba, and shot Sasuke accusing glances.

"What?" Sasuke asked. "You know I hate having all the girls fawn over me."

"Doesn't stop the fact that the all like you, and find all of us annoying," Naruto said. Sasuke kept quiet, and the rest of the team dropped the subject.

Kiba stood in the showers contemplating the announcement Coach Iruka had just made. A small part of him was excited about attending the dance. The a few moments he had visions of dancing with Hinata-chan: he looking dashing in a tuxedo, and she looking gorgeous in a flowing purple dress that perfectly accentuated her lovely eyes.

The brunette hastily shook the vision out of his mind, because he knew it would never come true. The fact remained that Hinata liked Naruto. The chances that she would actually go to the Fall Formal with Kiba were slim to none, and leaning towards none.

"What are you thinking about?" Shino asked, disrupting Kiba's train of though.

"Not much. Just that having to go to the dance sucks," he said gruffly.

Shino lowered his voice so that only Kiba could hear it and said, "If you want to go with Hinata I have a full proof plan that will assure she is your date to the dance."

Kiba wasn't sure what Shino's plan was, but he was positive it wouldn't work. However, it wasn't as though he had anything to loose by listening to his friend's scheme. "Okay, what is this big plan of yours?"

The black haired basketball player shook his head. "Not now. Come to my house after practice and we can discuss it."

Kiba agreed to go to Shino's, but was still skeptical that his teammate would get Hinata to go to the Fall Formal with him. _"Shino better have something good up his sleeve," Kiba thought. "Because I don't want to spend the rest of the season on the bench." _

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Yea! I am done with the third chapter! It is certainly a long one! So, what did you think of it? Good? Bad? Please leave a review and let me know what you think! And I am sorry if I got any details about Japanese high schools wrong! I really don't know much about them! Gomen!


End file.
